Renewables to be the ‘dominant force’ in GB power by 2020
Solar is to help renewables become the “dominant force” of Great Britain’s energy mix by as early as next year, a new report has found.
Articles tagged with: Utility Scale
BayWa r.e. celebrates Octopus solar O&M deal
BayWa r.e. has landed a contract to provide operations and maintenance services to Octopus Investments for 13 of its UK solar farms.
Government must re-examine established renewables policy, consider ‘CfD Floor’ mechanism
The government must urgently re-examine its policy for supporting established renewables if it is to meet climate objectives, research and analysis firm Cornwall Insight has said.
Shell partners Anesco for UK battery storage
Anesco and Shell’s New Energies division are to partner on a utility-scale battery storage project in Norfolk.
Greencoat lands trio of UK solar farms to take portfolio beyond 600MW
Greencoat Solar has added a further 60MW to its portfolio with a new acquisition, taking its total installed capacity above 600MW.
Solar and storage possess ‘mutually beneficial interaction’ in Capacity Market, National Grid says
Solar and storage technologies would possess a “mutually beneficial interaction” in the Capacity Market (CM) should renewables be introduced into the mechanism, National Grid has said.
NTR secures £207 million from financial giants to power renewables spree
NTR has landed €229 million (£207 million) in commitments for its second renewable energy income fund, attracting interest from some of Europe’s biggest financial powerhouses.
Solar stories of 2018, part four: Claire Perry’s U-turn and subsequent U-U-turn
We conclude our recap of the most significant stories of 2018 for UK solar, remembering what happened throughout October, November and December. Energy minister Claire Perry, predictably, features heavily.
Government confirms export tariff cull
The export tariff will close to new applicants at the same time as the generation tariff, the government has confirmed, despite overwhelming opposition to the plans.
Solar stories of 2018, part one: Nissan enters the home solar market as business rates loom large
Over the course of this week Solar Power Portal will look back at some of the biggest news stories of 2018, starting with today’s re-cap of the first three months of the year.
UK solar costs plummeting beyond forecasts, as cheap as £40/MWh by 2030
Large-scale solar deployment in the UK is set to re-ignite next year as the technology continues to beat all previous cost estimates and could be as cheap as £40 per megawatt hour by 2030, the Solar Trade Association has said.
Ofgem update clarifies deemed export tariff and storage confusion
An updated technical guide to co-locating renewables and battery storage has clarified previously conflicting guidance on the matter, removing barriers and potentially unlocking the “tremendous potential” of solar homes.
Expanded Little Crow Solar Farm edges closer to DCO as second consultation phase kicks off
Plans for Little Crow Solar Farm, the second PV project seeking a Development Consent Order, have edged closer this week on the back of developer INRG revising upwards the site’s planned capacity.
Private-wire solar farm powers Swindon recycling centre
A 2.5MW private-wire PV project in Swindon, Wiltshire, has been energised, providing power to an adjacent recycling centre.
Feature
Guest blog
Sponsored O&M strategies for finding module-level defects
Lior Handelsman, VP of marketing & product strategy at SolarEdge, analyses the various strategies asset owners can use to identify module-level defects.
Exclusive: Lightsource BP to develop 300MW PPA-backed solar pipeline
Lightsource BP is to deploy more than 300MW of utility-scale solar farms backed by power purchase agreements in the UK, Solar Power Portal can reveal.
NESF turns to Limejump for 120MW PPA deal
NextEnergy Solar Fund (NESF) has tasked energy aggregator Limejump to trade 120MW of its solar generation through a new power purchase agreement (PPA).
Solar to be hardest hit by Ofgem plans for fixed residual charges, Embedded Benefits axe
Solar will face the “greatest potential impact” from new proposals by Ofgem to apply fixed residual charges to all final demand users and end the Embedded Benefits for smaller generators under its Targeted Charging Review (TCR).
Foresight Solar Fund completes 80.9MW portfolio acquisition
Foresight Solar Fund Limited (FSFL) has acquired a portfolio of 11 operational solar farms in the UK for a total consideration of £33.1 million.
Solarcentury to build 200MW in Spain as international activity continues
Solarcentury has received approval from the regional government in Andalucia to construct four PV projects in Alcala de Guadaira suburb of Seville, Spain.
Ofgem finds £63 million hole in renewable energy support scheme funds
Ofgem has identified a combined shortfall of over £60 million pounds in two funds underpinning the UK’s solar energy subsidy regimes, taking aim at late payments from energy suppliers.
Feature
UK post-subsidy pipeline reaches 3GW, 500MW pegged for 2019 development
Finlay Colville, head of market research at Solar Media, details precisely how the UK’s post-subsidy solar pipeline has soared to just shy of 3GW, while simultaneously forecasting something of a revival for UK solar in 2019 with 500MW to be developed.
NESF subsidy-free pipeline swells as ‘exceptional’ summer boosts profit
NextEnergy Solar Fund (NESF) has added 470MW of subsidy-free PV assets to its acquisition pipeline as an “exceptional” summer of solar saw profits rise.
£450 million Cleve Hill solar farm submits DCO application with reduced scale
Hive Energy and Wirsol have submitted their application to develop their planned nationally significant solar farm, Cleve Hill, albeit on a slightly reduced scale to that originally proposed.
Feature
In defence of Clayhill
Sarah Hitchcox, development and policy director at Anesco, sets the record straight over the developer’s famed Clayhill project – the UK’s first subsidy-free solar farm – and discusses the company’s vision for the future.
Welsh government approves near 50MW solar and storage park
A near 50MW solar farm with battery storage has been given the go ahead by Wales’ Planning Inspectorate to allow a group of land owners to develop the project on the site of a former steelworks.
Battery storage developers facing uncertainty as Capacity Market placed in ‘standstill’
Battery storage developers in the UK are facing uncertainty over their prospective revenue stacks as the Capacity Market was placed in an indefinite “standstill period”.
Feature
Public to private: Does the latest subsidy-free solar farm offer a bridge to future deployment?
West Sussex County Council recently followed up Anesco's completion of the UK’s first subsidy-free solar farm in September last year with its own, deploying 7.4MW alongside a battery to make the project viable. While some have argued the project offers little in discussions of the future solar landscape in the UK, local authority projects are being completed now and could bridge the gap in deployment until private investors get moving.
Gresham House raises £100 million for energy storage fund to enter stock exchange
Gresham House has raised £100 million to drive its energy storage fund onto the London Stock Exchange, half the amount planned last month but enough to progress plans to acquire a 70MW seed portfolio.
Milestone reached as renewables capacity leapfrogs fossil fuels
A major milestone in the UK’s power sector decarbonisation was reached in September as, for the first time, there was more renewables capacity on the grid than fossil fuels.